Breakdown of لم تكن المرأة قد شاهدت رؤيا مثل هذه، فحدقت في السماء.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
سماءsamâ'
sky
هذهhâdhihi
this (f)
امرأةimra'a
woman
شاهدshâhada
to watch
فfa
so, then / for (giving a reason)
كانkâna
to be
مثلmithl
like / such as
قدqad
already
لمlam
did not
رؤياru'yâ
vision (dream, prophetic)
حدقhaddaqa
to stare
Questions & Answers about لم تكن المرأة قد شاهدت رؤيا مثل هذه، فحدقت في السماء.
Why is لم تكن used here with قد شاهدت instead of just a simple past negation?
The combination of كان (in this case, negated in the past with لم تكن) plus قد and a past tense verb creates the Arabic equivalent of the past perfect tense ('had not witnessed'). It shows that this lack of seeing a vision happened before her subsequent action of staring at the sky.
The word for 'vision' here is رؤيا. Is this the same as رؤية?
They come from the same root but have different nuances. رؤية refers to physical sight or a viewpoint. رؤيا (ending in a long alif) specifically means a 'vision' in a spiritual sense, an apparition, or a profound dream.
Why do we use the feminine pronoun هذه in the phrase مثل هذه ('like this')?
The demonstrative pronoun هذه points back to رؤيا (vision). In Arabic, nouns ending in this specific long alif pattern are feminine, so it requires feminine agreement.
What is the exact function of the فـ attached to حدقت (stared)?
It is a conjunction showing consequence. It links the two clauses to show immediate cause and effect: she hadn't seen such a vision, and so (as a direct result) she stared at the sky.
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